You may proceed to the site by clicking here, however some pages might not
work correctly.

LATEST VIDEOS

More Videos:

Rates from Bankrate.com

Mortgage

Credit Cards

Auto

A High-Wire Act No Longer

Written by: Jim Cramer03/23/13 - 12:00 PM EDT

Tickers in this article:
CRM

Market purists, you will hate this piece. So skip it. But
Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff's decision to issue a 4-for-1 stock split, announced Thursday night, is an inspired and correct decision -- one that I believe will immeasurably help this $172 stock. That's right: I think it will matter, and maybe much more than most realize.

You might now say, "Come on, Cramer, you know that a stock split is a totally cosmetic gesture, and an empty one at that. It means nothing, creates no value and doesn't matter." But before you do, I want to say I know all of that. I have proselytized exactly that for years. How many times have I handled questions from readers and viewers about the value of stock splits simply by splitting a pencil in half, showing that this doesn't create any value at all? It's chimerical.

So what's changed? I think Salesforce.com's $170 stock is simply too treacherous to own, not because of how the company's doing, which is fabulously, but because of how poorly the security trades. It is too thin and too unwieldy. Plus, it is endlessly footballed around by the hedge-fund community. Salesforce.com is a target -- one that is so easily knocked down by shorts, so easily raided and so easily trashed that perhaps only a 4-for-1 may be able to stem the attacks. Put simply, I think they will go elsewhere for their prey if this stock no longer trades like at ten-pin in a Professional Bowlers Association tour. It will cease to be a frightening stock to own.

That's right, holding the stock of Salesforce.com can be downright frightening. I dread its reporting days, because you know the stock's going to be up $12 if it is a good number, or down $12 on a bad one -- at a minimum. That's just not a tenable result.

This article originally appeared on March 22, 2013 on RealMoney. To read more content like this + Jim Cramer's $3 Million portfolio for FREE Click Here NOW.

No one wants to pay up $12 for Salesforce.com the day after it reports. You feel like a chump immediately. It is way too scary. Nor do you want to be in a stock in which you could lose 12 points in a blink of an eye.